The Secretary General of INTERPOL, Mr. Jürgen Stock paid a courtesy call on the SADC Executive Secretary, Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax at the SADC Secretariat, on 28th August 2018, in Gaborone, Botswana to discuss cooperation between SADC and INTERPOL. The meeting also offered an opportunity to discuss emerging areas of cooperation to be included in the review of the Cooperation Agreement. Guided by the Cooperation Agreement signed in February 2012, the two Organisations cooperate in among others, joint planning and execution of operational activities; exchange of information; and identification of specialized regional training needs.
During the meeting, Mr. Stock highlighted that in view of the increasing criminality in the world, and increasing sophistication of the transnational organized crime, whose proceeds are used to fund illicit and terrorism activities, there is a need to put in place collaborative measures to improve police control at the borders and build a Global Architecture of Security.
Her Excellency Dr. Tax expressed SADC’s appreciation to INTERPOL for their continued support since the creation of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO) in 1995, and its formal integration into SADC structures in 2006. The Executive Secretary further informed that the Revised Constitution for SARPCCO was approved at the recent Summit of SADC Heads of State and Government in Windhoek, Namibia in August 2018, conferring a new impetus in the fight against transnational organized crime. Furthermore, Dr. Tax highlighted that the support of INTERPOL through the Regional Bureau (RB Harare), in terms of training and joint operations is pivotal to mitigate the emerging increased trend of cyber based and transnational organized crime.
The two Parties resolved to continue to further strengthen their collaboration through the on-going review of the Cooperation Agreement, which takes cognizance of new and emerging challenges posed by terrorism, cyber based and transnational organized crime.
